The One He Let Go Chapter 08

The One He Let Go Chapter 08

After all, Caspian was far less valuable than the company’s steady stock growth.

When I got the news,
I was in my bright, spacious office, chatting with the HR manager from my old office.
He said with genuine feeling,
“Everyone knew the Savannah transfer was a promotion, but nobody wanted to take it.”
“Everyone wants to stay and make it in New York. You’re the only one with the right idea. Your own comfort is what matters most…”
Before I could answer, he leaned in with a gossipy, mysterious air,
“I wonder what Caspian did to get the boot from the board.”
“The new boss is the youngest daughter of the Drusus family. Tough as nails, a real shark.”
“Guess who’s the first one to have a hard time under her?”
I smiled knowingly.
But I didn’t say anything.
Who else could it be?
That Isabella, who’d waltzed into the company through the back door.
As for how she’s doing now,

I didn’t listen anymore.

That was all in the past.

It had nothing to do with me.

Right now, I had a mountain of savings.

Working was just about finding some purpose in life.

Maybe one day, when I got tired of it,

I’d quit my job and travel the world.

Life was pretty good.

Until one day,

I was heading out after work, looking forward to a nice dinner,

When I saw someone who shouldn’t have been there, downstairs.

Caspian looked thinner.

Standing there in the wind, he seemed so disheveled.

He looked at me in disbelief.

After a long silence,

He finally spoke, his voice hoarse, each word deliberate:

“Mia, come home with me.”

Caspian strode forward and tried to grab my arm, talking fast:

“It’s okay, I can start over.”

“Then you can just come—”

“Caspian, have you lost your mind!” I shook him off in disgust, and said coldly, “I signed the transfer papers myself.”

“They even have your personal stamp on them.”

“If you don’t believe me, go check.”

“But I thought that was just—” Caspian looked crushed by my reaction, his eyes reddening. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

He finally panicked.

“You can’t do this to me. I didn’t do anything wrong…”

“Yeah, you didn’t do anything wrong.” I decided to lay it all bare, to tear open the old wounds.

“You just kept choosing between me and Isabella, and you always chose her.”

“You just cherished her so much that you’d rather hurt me than let her suffer.”

“You just kept unconsciously thinking of her, over and over again, while you were with me.”

I watched Caspian’s face get paler and paler.

And I asked from the bottom of my heart:

“If that’s the case, why did you pursue me so relentlessly, treat me so well…”

“Why were you so desperate for a home, and then never came back to it?”

“Do you know how many times I truly thought I was the one to blame?”

But I wasn’t.

The love I thought I had,

Was never pure.

Caspian didn’t leave willingly.

His siblings had always been at each other’s throats.

And they saw this as their chance to strike while the iron was hot, to pour gasoline on the fire while their father, Mr. Alistair Drusus Sr., was already disappointed in Caspian.

Even I found the right moment to contact Alistair:

“My demands are simple. I want a smooth divorce.”

“As for that PowerPoint that could hurt your new company’s IPO, I’ll make sure it’s wiped clean.”

Alistair had been proud his whole life.

He was the most notorious playboy in New York high society, had countless mistresses when he was young.

He always kept them in line, managed them well.

None of them ever made a public scene.

Caspian was the first son to embarrass him like that.

I heard that

When someone mocked Alistair for having such a worthless, lovesick son,

The ever-proud Alistair actually got into a fistfight.

And immediately gave strict orders.

No one was to give Caspian any important position again.

He was never to be given the chance to run the group again.

After that,

It was just Alistair’s sudden cerebral hemorrhage and the kids tearing each other apart over the inheritance.

None of that had anything to do with me.

I ran into Caspian again.

I remembered two years ago.

Caspian was just like this back then.

Back then,

He was all sharp suits and brimming with confidence.

But now, Caspian was a real mess.

The man who was once so aloof and refined was wearing baggy, worn-out clothes, unshaven, with messy, unkempt hair.

“The moment my dad got sick, the whole family just fell apart.”

“Or maybe, that family was never really a family at all.”

“I was already stripped of my power, and now, even the house and the cars were snatched away by those vultures.”

I quietly took off the luxury accessories I was wearing.

And put them in my pocket.

Then I hid the rare, auctioned-off bag he’d given me behind my back.

And continued listening.

“I was always too proud. I thought it was all within my grasp. I never imagined I’d lose it all one day.”

“Including you, Mia.”

“The time you’ve been gone, I finally realized how much damage I did by letting Isabella cross so many lines.”

I looked at Caspian, his eyes bloodshot.

He looked like he was about to pour his heart out.

So I took a step back.

And cut him off coldly:

“You’re not going to say that losing me made you realize you truly love me, are you?”

Under Caspian’s shocked gaze,

I continued,

“Isabella was right, you know. It’s just novelty for you. You got bored of her after eight years. Even if you stayed with me, one day you’d get bored of me too…”

“The only reason you can’t let go now is because you’re a bastard.”

“You always want what you can’t have.”

The moment the word “bastard” left my mouth,

Caspian’s body visibly crumpled.

He lowered his eyes, as if he didn’t want to hear any more.

“Just go.”

“I’m setting you free.”

Caspian couldn’t help but call out to me again.

Standing there in the glaring sun, he stared at me blankly,

“When I’ve saved up enough for a ticket to Savannah, I’ll come see you.”

“We’ll see each other again, won’t we?”

I didn’t answer.

And I didn’t tell him.

That he’d already given me enough money this past year, out of guilt.

As long as I didn’t blow through it, it was enough to keep me comfortable for the rest of my life.

So I’d already quit my job.

And I was getting ready to leave Savannah.

Heading for a new city.

From now on,

The road was long and wide.

And I wouldn’t be seeing Caspian again.

This time, I thought,

Maybe freedom is the better choice.